The present invention relates to a method for machining a workpiece.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
Workpieces are known which are provided with an end face gearing on the end face. Such end face gearings are for example used to mesh components, which are axially aligned to one another, with one another in rotationally fixed fashion in the manner of a coupling. There are various ways to produce an end face gearing on the end face of a workpiece. In principle a distinction can be made here between intermittent partial processes and continuous processes. In intermittent partial processes a single tooth gap of the workpiece is machined in each case with the tool. On completion of the tooth gap, workpiece and tool are then rotated relative to one another in line with the pitch of the gear wheel to be manufactured, whereupon the machining of the next tooth gap can be effected. In this way a gear wheel is gradually manufactured. Although manufacturing an end face gearing using intermittent partial processes does take a great deal of time, nevertheless these processes can usually be used very flexibly. In contrast, continuous processes are based on linked sequences of movements between workpiece and tool, as a result of which a continuous pitch movement and thus a shorter machining time are achieved. An example of such a continuous process is for example the hobbing process. However, one problem with the known continuous processes which are currently used to create an end face gearing on the end face of a workpiece is that they can only be performed on special gearing machines. As a result, investment costs are high and in addition further machining of the workpieces is required on additional machine tools, making it necessary to rechuck the workpiece. However, rechucking is associated with impaired quality, in particular as regards rotational accuracy, and with longer throughput times.
It would be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved method for machining a workpiece to obviate prior art shortcomings and to attain short machining times, short throughput times and high rotational accuracies while still incurring low investment costs.